Birds

I haven't specifically gone birding much so far this spring, but in the last week I've seen way more than the average number of interesting birds from my car. When we were driving to Madison last weekend, I saw a pair of sandhill cranes land next a wetlands area - my first siting of these birds this year. I also saw a northern harrier skimming across a field, and I saw a ton of red tailed hawks hanging out in trees and on fences. As we were getting back into town on Sunday, I saw a blue heron fly over, which was another first-of-the-year (though it's probably one of the most common wading birds to spot in the Twin Cities during the summer).

On Wednesday, when I was driving to work, I had what was probably one of my weirdest sitings ever. Just north of the 35th/36th street entrance to I35W, I saw a wild turkey fly over the freeway. I know that turkeys are huge birds, but seeing one in flight really underlines just how big they are. Wild turkeys are pretty common in the suburban and/or wooded areas of the TC's, but I posted this siting to the birding listserv I'm on, since I have never seen a wild turkey in that densely populated an area of the metro before. I got a message back from a woman who lives near 41st and Bryant (which is fairly near that freeway entrance), who had seen a turkey over there a few days before. So, those of you in South Minneapolis, keep your eyes open for a roaming wild turkey. I've heard they can be pretty aggressive this time of year, so be extra wary about leaving young children unattended. :)

About a week ago, a little pond a block away from my house finally completely opened up from it's frozen state. Almost immediately, I started seeing birds on it as I was driving past, but couldn't really identify them from my car whilst going past. So, I grabbed my binoculars when I got into my house and went back out to go look. There were about 5 pairs of wood ducks, and two pairs of lesser scaup.

Finally, I haven't actually made it over there to see them, but eyelid has reported to me that there is a pair of barred owls that have been hanging out near her parents' house. I think it's really cool that friends of mine will call me when they see an interesting bird, because I often get to see things I wouldn't have just stumbled across on my own.

Rehabbed Eagle

This is a pretty cool story about the rehabilitation of a bald eagle that was shot through the beak. To quote from it:

The shot blew away most of his upper beak, leaving just the tip, which remained attached to his skull by a thin piece of cartilage. Some veterinarians suggest that Campbell put Brian down but Campbell persevered, and slowly the bird started to recover.

A dentist ended up making a prosthetic to attach to the remaining part of the beak. Click on the link to see pictures of the beak injury and the bird with its headgear.